Player of the Month: India's T20 World Cup 2026-winning duo Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah and South Africa's young wicketkeeper Connor Esterhuizen nominated for ICC Men's POTM

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on April 6 announced three nominees for the men’s Player of the Month (POTM) award for March. India’s T20 World Cup 2026-winning duo Sanju Samson and Jasprit Bumrah have made the list. The Indian pair will compete with South Africa's young wicketkeeper-batter Connor Esterhuizen who scored two consecutive fifties in his debut T20I series against New Zealand.

How Samson, Bumrah, Esterhuizen performed in March

Samson was named 'Player of the series' in T20 World Cup 2026 for three consecutive half-centuries to solve India's off-spin issue at the top of the order. Samson scored an unbeaten 97 against West Indies in a virtual quarter-final and followed it up with 89-run knocks against England in the semifinal and against New Zealand in the title clash. The performances helped him enter the top 20 of ICC Men's T20I batter rankings.

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Bumrah was the reason why India were able to defend totals or restrict oppositions on batting-friendly tracks. His well-disguised slower ones and pin-point yorkers troubled the batters. He was eventually named the 'Player of the match' in the final against New Zealand where he conceded just 15 runs and bagged a four-fer.

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In the only T20I series of March among full-member nations, South Africa's Esterhuizen made an impressive T20I debut. On his debut, he contributed with an unbeaten 45. After two forgettable outing, he scored two consecutive half-centuries. In the five-T20I series, he scored at an average of 50 and strike rate of 145.98. He was named 'Player of the match' twice and helped the Proteas win the T20I series 3-2.